Do you ever remove documentation?

Dianna · September 2002

I know it's a scary question x:o but nonetheless one I need to ask.

Regarding disciplinary documentation for attendance issues and/or other violations, does your company have any guidelines for removing and disciplinary documentation from personnel files? I know, I know - my thinking is that you never actually remove any documentation from the files ;;) , but I believe this is coming from the viewpoint of how long do you hold disciplinary actions against someone?

So maybe I should state it this way, if you don't actually remove documentation from the files, do you have a timeframe where certain infractions (that wouldn't lead to termination) are no longer held against a team member?

Thanks in advance for your responses. x0:)

Janet · September 2002

We're a union facility x:'( and our contract indicates the amount of time certain disciplinary actions remain active in the EE file. We keep the actual form in the file at all times, but after a certain time period, it's void.

Margaret Morford · September 2002

My policy does much the same thing, union or non-union. If the employee goes six months with no corrective action, you begin the process again with the first step. We never remove documentation from the file, but rather it is no longer considered in the corrective action process. I would never remove corrective action from a file because your file is an overall record of that employee's performance during his/her career with your organization. If you remove documentation, you run the risk of the employee having copies of documents that you no longer have.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

Don D · September 2002

Diana: Here's how ours works. No documentation is purged from the file, ever. However, there is a limitation on use. If there is the passage of 12 months between disciplinary notices, the last one and all prior 'roll off'. If there is never a full intervening 12 month period between disciplinary notices, they all are used in any action taken. Our contract policy calls for counseling, verbal and written, then termination.

Gillian · September 2002

Our time period is also 12 months, but I do remove the document from the file. I think that someone who has cleaned up their act shouldn't have something hanging over their head as a reminder of past problems. That is what the employee perception is - they say it doesn't count against me but it is still there to remind everyone!

HR Guy · September 2002

Another idea..........once it is shown that the employee has changed/improved the behavior behind the warning, a memo from his/her manager is placed in the file recognizing that accomplishment. Many of my managers prefer doing this - they're afraid that the "roll-off" won't actually be taken into consideration by future hiring managers, etc.

Lori B · September 2002

I wouldn't remove it. It doesn't carry much weight after a year, but we still keep it. Our logic: we don't remove glowing personnel reviews after a year...it cuts both ways. History is history, and we want it all....

Don D · September 2002

I agree with Lori. All history should be readily available in the historical personnel file. I have known EEOC cases to turn on historical disciplinary documentation, even though the company cannot use it in the current discipline chain. The EEOC will almost always ask questions about whether or not disciplinary issues just suddenly arose or does this person have a track record of such issues. Also, in a recent NLRB trial, I was required to produce such documentation going 25 years back. This isn't peculiar to union environments either. I think the best model for a company setup requires that all such information be maintained by Human Resources, never by individual supervisors, never removed or kept at their discretion or at their level. And never should ultimate and final disciplinary decisions be made at the supervisory level without some degree of involvement and guidance from the Human Resources level. One control point. One office of record. One pivot-point of policy management. One safety valve of consistency. This ensures consistency (insofar as possible) and a sensible control point for this most critical activity. It's not about a power struggle or turfism....Human Resources is an ancillary, support department and I feel strongly that these responsibilities are ours alone.

njjel · September 2002

We are a union facility and unfortunately our contracts call for the disciplinary letter to be removed after 18 months. :-( Not much I can do about that but for changing the contract language at the table next time (which is more than likely NOT going to happen).

Don D · September 2002

You're right. You'll never get it out of the contract now that the previous HR guy let it get in there.

Pork · September 2002

Dandy Don has got it right again! I personally control the current use of past history. After 6 months I make the supervisors/managers start all over. I use the roller coaster effect in our defense on giving great opportunity for success of the disciplined employee on the companies part. Ehen you lay the time elements on a calander time chart it is very impressive to the judge and jury. We never remove documents other than duplicate copies unles the duplicate has a special hand written piece of information included. Then the duplicate is also kept. Good luck Pork

Do you ever remove documentation?

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